Leo, the Mob and the Baby
by Gemdrive
Summary: Lame title says it all, a one-shot with Leo running from the Mob with a Baby. Oh yeah, and he got shot to boot. Yep, bad night for Leo. There's a few cute moments, with ninja brother banter thrown in.


Disclaimer: I don't own the TMNT, nuff said.

A/N: Okay, I know. I have stories that need updating but I promise you, I am working on them. I'm just trying to find the time to write them.

This one, however, quite happily wrote itself. I don't know where it came from, there's no meaning to it, just random scribbles to pass the time.

Oh, and this hasn't been put under my usual scrutiny, so it's probably a little rough around the edges.

Hope you enjoy! :)

* * *

Leo, the Mob and the Baby.

It's hard enough to run through alleys and side streets when you're being chased by the mob, it's even harder when you're injured. Leonardo could safely say that bullets do indeed hurt more than blades, especially with said bullet still lodged in his thigh. The pain had started to hit a whole new level, his leg conspiring against him to pull him to the ground. If he took too long to lose his tail, he'd bleed out before even finding a safe place to hide.

Not that that was an option right now.

Under normal conditions, Leo would simply incorporate stealth, using his lifelong training to evade his enemy and await his brothers assistance; if he could stop for one moment to hit the emergency button on the his cell, that is. Still, he could relish in the fact that the mobsters chasing him were obviously not as fit as he was; their breathing came heavy and laboured. It almost made him chuckle; if he didn't have a bullet wound, he could probably just outrun them and get home safely.

Except, hiding wasn't an option, not unless the small bundle in his arms would stop crying.

He couldn't deal with that right now, he had to gain ground and hope that he could lose them in Battery Park. He struggled along the wall of the alley, stopping for a moment to ease the pressure on his leg and reach for his cell; as he hit the button, he turned suddenly at the sound of shuffling feet.

"There he is!"

"Dammit." Leo muttered, ducking quickly as bullets slammed into the wall above his head. He pushed away, limping along and sticking to the shadows so that the armed men couldn't take a shot. He knew that they were after the baby; he'd seen them kill the poor child's mother. He took a bullet for the tiny thing and got a gurgling, gummy smile for thanks, it's a shame that fully-grown humans couldn't be as kind.

As he fled the alley, skirting across the street and over the wall into the park, he dropped down and bit back a scream of pain. That small exertion had _hurt._

He chanced that the mob hadn't seen which way he had run, content that the shadows had confused them enough to have to guess his direction. With his back to the wall, he leaned up and looked over cautiously, scanning the road either way and relieved to see no one. Not willing to waste the opportunity, he wondered if he would have time to tie off his leg and call his brothers.

He frowned at the gentle, barely noticeable, tug of his head. Turning back, Leo couldn't help but smile as the baby girl entwined the tails of his mask in her hand, stuffing her covered fists into her mouth. "If I'd known that my mask would've kept you quiet, I'd have given it to you some time ago, little one."

Leo slowly reached up and slipped the fabric off his head, unable to untie it with the ends currently being soaked in baby drool. He rested it on her wrapped body, gently lowering her to the grassy ground beneath them. As the baby griped in protest at the loss of contact, Leo shushed her gently.

"Sorry, little one. Have to patch myself up first, then I'm all yours afterwards, alright?" He gently tugged at his mask, reminding her that she had something else to keep her attention. He smiled again as she pulled it closer possessively. "See? Blue cloth is far more interesting than the giant green turtle, huh?"

The baby gurgled and set about sliming Leo's mask some more. He chuckled lightly as he leaned forward and proceeded to remove his strap, easing the sheathed katana's off and down to the ground. He could already feel the effects of blood loss as he started to wrap the leather around his leg; knowing that the leather needed to be tight to counteract the lack of absorption, he grits his teeth and pulled the ends _hard._

Leo hissed, shaking and shutting his eyes tight, the pain radiated down to his toes, up to his hip, flaring across his torso. Sucking in air, he finished tying off the leather and leaned back, resting his head against the wall and panting through the pain.

The baby started to squeal in delight, oblivious to Leo's pain and still absorbed in the loaned mask. He let his head fall to the side and watched the child, reaching out to rub his thumb over the dark curls that poked out of the blanket around her face.

He stuck his hand into his belt, searching for his cell and finding nothing. With a groan, he realised that he must have dropped it in the alley. Now, not only was he bleeding with a bullet lodged in his leg, struggling to keep the mob away from the tiny child, he also lost the one thing that would pinpoint his position for his brothers to follow.

_Could this night get any worse?_

"You can't hide forever, freak."

_Oh wonderful._

"Hand over the kid and we promise to kill 'ya quickly."

Leo shuffled, bringing himself up onto one knee, stretching the wounded leg out straight. He scooped up his katana and forced one into his belt, the other gripped in his hand. Lastly, he gently eased his arm around the baby and lifted her to his plastron.

Ducking low and using the katana and sheath as a makeshift cane, he edged through the park, heading for the densest concentration of trees he knew of. The baby began to fidget in his arms and he glanced down to see that she had lost her grip on his mask, as she started to whimper, he quickly brought it back to her attention and hoped that it would keep her quiet enough for a little while longer. Unfortunately, it also meant taking away his support and his leg gave out. He pivoted as he fell, spinning to keep the baby above him, landing unceremoniously on his shell and hitting his head against the trunk of the closest tree. Leo groaned in dejection, wondering just how much more New York planned to throw at him tonight.

"We know you're in here somewhere, freak! You got nowhere to run and we know 'ya hurt. 'Ya gotta be feelin' it now. Hell, if we leave 'ya long enough we'll be picking the kid outta 'ya dead hands."

Leo sighed, rolling himself to his feet and limping away from the voices. He started to feel the dizziness creeping up on him, then strangely started to question whether that was due to blood loss or smacking his skull against a tree trunk.

"Why don't you come on out, huh? We know you can't call fer help," the man chuckled, then sing-songed. "Cause we got yer cell phone."

Leo stopped, and slowly slid to his knees. _Finally, something in my favour._

Then he started to laugh, small at first, then growing in intensity before he let out a long sigh.

"What's your favourite colour, little one?" Leo questions quietly, then, when he hears the faint whistle, he smiles. "Because I know three other masks that you can chew on."

"What the hell was that?" The mobster yelled, "Holy… "

Leo shuffled nearer the tree and lowered his katana to the floor, resting his shell against the trunk and pulling the baby closer. "It's going to get a little noisy, but I promise it won't be for long." He wrapped his hand around the baby's small head, gently covering her ears.

Gunfire broke the silence of the park, white flashes of light lighting up behind him with each, ear-splitting sound. The mob panicked, firing randomly and screaming as the shadows came to life.

As soon as it started, the gunfire tapered off into nothing. When he heard the rustle of leaves above, he glanced up and smiled.

"Hey, Mikey."

Mike hung upside down, swinging almost ape like with a huge smile on his face. "You rang?" He dropped down, twisting in the air and landing at Leo's feet. He immediately spotted his brother mask-less and carrying the unmistakable bundled baby in his arms.

"Dude!" He exclaimed happily, squatting down and reaching over to gently pull back the blanket; beaming as the baby gurgled, still completely engrossed in Leo's mask.

"Who's the daddy?" Mike asked playfully, holding his hands out and gesturing for Leo to pass the baby over. Leo held her out, "Watch her head," he whispered.

Mike scoffed, "Says the turtle who's been running with her whilst trying to avoid the mob."

"What the hell…"

Mike turned as Raph came from the shadows, "Look! Leo found a baby!"

Raph frowned, twisting his head to stare at the tiny human. "Looks like you've lost that mask, bro."

"I got more." Leo slurred.

Raph patted Mike on the shoulder, "You get baby duty, we'll get Fearless."

Don appeared from around the same tree that Leo sat slumped against, dropping quickly and assessing his older brother. He nodded to himself before reaching into his bag and pulling out dressings for Leo's leg. "You've lost too much blood, Leo. Raph'll have to carry you back to the van."

"Like hell he will," Leo muttered.

"You'll do as the doc orders, bonehead." Raph crouched down at Leo's other side and grabbed his head. Seeing the blood he said, "Who hit you?"

Leo smiled, "That tree, over there. Go beat it up for me."

Raph chuckled, "So, what'd we do with the kid?"

"Can we keep her?" Mike asked.

At that moment, three turtles turned and watched as the small child squealed in delight as Mike pulled faces, tugging on Leo's mask.

Don sighed, "No, Mike. We can't keep her. She has a family out there that are probably worried for her."

"Besides," Raph added, "Leo's already a mother hen, that kid'll make him worse."

"Funny," Leo replied good-naturedly, "Can we discuss this in the van, please? I'd like to stop bleeding all over New York, you know?"

"I'll spare you your dignity, give me 'ya arm." Raph and Don heaved Leo up between them, slowly making their way through Battery Park towards the van. Mike cooed at the baby as he followed behind.

"So Leo, what did you name her?" Mike smiled.

Leo sighed, "We're not keeping her, Mike."

* * *

A/N: There you have it, hope you liked it. I know, I know. Lame, go on, you can say it.

Thanks for reading. :)


End file.
